Edgecumbe

Edgecumbe is a town in the Bay of Plenty of the North Island of New Zealand, 15 kilometres to the west of Whakatane and eight kilometres south of the Bay's coast. It is the main service town for the agricultural region surrounding the plains of the Rangitaiki River, which flows through the town. It had a population of 1626 in the 2006 New Zealand Census but it has since increased to 1,638 as of the 2013 Census. State Highway 2 and the Taneatua Branch railway line (disused) pass through the town.

History

The town is named after the small village of Edgecumbe in Cornwall, United Kingdom, between Penryn and Helston. Edgecumbe was linked with Tauranga and Auckland by rail with the opening of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway and Taneatua Express in 1928. In 1987, a large earthquake centered on Edgecumbe shook the Bay of Plenty, causing widespread damage and causing much of the population to leave Edgecumbe. In July 2004 and May 2005 the town experienced heavy flooding that ruined many homes. In the 2005 flood, the river swelled to within 5 cms of breaching the flood banks that had been put in place seven years prior.